How to Make Infused Olive Oil

Has your junior chef moved beyond chicken nuggets and mac and cheese? Challenge him to create his own brand of infused olive oil. Infused olive oil is a hot new trend in cooking, where the oil is flavored with a variety of herbs, spices and other foods. This cooking craft is perfect for a gift, or just for enjoying at home. Buon appetito!

What You Do:

If you are using the bottle that the olive oil came in, soak off the label: Put the jar in hot water for five minutes, then peel it off.

If you’re sticking with the original bottle, use a knife or fork to pop off the plastic pour spout. If you have your own container, let your child pour olive oil from the store jar into your glass jar.

Let your child smell the herbs and choose ones that he wants to flavor the olive oil. He may use one, two, or several if he wants to create a combination of flavors and aromas.

Let him gently push the leaves or peppercorns into the glass jar of olive oil.

Screw on the top or lid to the jar. Explain to your child the meaning of infused: the oil will get the flavors and aromas from the herbs that are soaking in it.

If giving the oil as a gift, he can decorate the jar by cutting a ribbon to tie around the top of the jar. He can punch a hole in a gift card, attach it to the ribbon, and write his gift greeting on the card. He may want to name the oil by its flavor and write that on the card.

If you’re keeping your creation (hey, we won’t tell!), try drizzling it on some salad or dipping some sourdough in it. Delicious!

ByBeth Levin

Beth Levin has an M.A. in Curriculum and Education from Columbia University Teachers College. She has written educational activities for Macmillan/McGraw-Hill and Renaissance Learning publishers. She has a substitute teaching credential for grades K-12 in Oregon, where she lives with her husband and two daughters.

Updated on Jan 3, 2013

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